Haropla Haro - Penguin

Inspiration:

I've usually found Haros to be cute, cheerful characters. Their inherent roundness makes them good comedic characters with a lot of personality. I also like birds, stemming from my family having parakeets for a few years now. When a someone on YouTube ran the "Balls for Balls" contest, I decided that now would be a good time to purchase a Haro from Discount Hobby Warehouse in San Diego, CA.

My original intention was to paint this kit in a lighter shade of blue that would match our wedding colors, but it seemed too simple. After some thought, I had the idea to make the Haro look like a round birb. After finding a suitable lineart file that would be compatible with Microsoft Paint, I came up with two color schemes and multiple layouts. With the help of my wife, I decided to go for the Penguin color scheme with the hoodie layout.

Process:

This project began with the Haropla Haro Control Blue. Due to the dark blue of this kit, I sprayed multiple coats of primer on the surface to neutralize the color of the blue. The hardest step had to be masking the belly, face, and beak of the kit.

The base of the kit was painted white and weathered with grey to mimic a snowy field.

The entire figure was airbrushed using the Badger 105 Patriot with a Central Pneumatic 100 PSI, 3 Gallon Air Compressor. The eyes and some details inside were handbrushed. Due to our move across the country, I had to go over the chest area with a hand brush to fix some nicks and scratches from our move.

You can follow my progress on my Twitter @chetario starting on March 3, 2019 or read it all on my Work-in-Progress post.

Colors:

• Mission Models Mecha Acrylic Primer - White
• craftsmart Acrylic Paint White
• craftsmart Acrylic Paint Black
• craftsmart Acrylic Paint Light Grey
• craftsmart Acrylic Paint Bright Orange
• craftsmart Acrylic Paint Turquoise
• Pledge Revive It Floor Gloss (formerly Future Floor Polish)
• Vallejo Matte Varnish

Basic Shots:

Wings Open:

Accesories:

Verdict:

Overall, this was a very simple model kit in terms of construction with a few accessory parts. I'm proud of myself for making this original concept, especially one as adorable as this. So far, the reaction to this kit has been mostly positive and that makes me happy.

The pictures above were taken with a Canon 5D Mk II Camera, with a Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. All pictures were post-processed using Adobe Lightroom.

Thank you for reading this post and the support. Constructive criticism is always welcome and I will respond to each comment. Advice on how I can improve is also appreciated.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Keep Building, My Friends!